I haven't been around the forums in awhile (six months or more), so I had to read the entire thread to see what what was going on, and kept reading because I wanted to see what happened/was happening. Blue seems like such a special dog, and you clearly are a wonderful advocate for him. I also just wanted to say that I think it's great that you addressed your concerns like you did, in writing, and laid out all your concerns without being accusatory, and that your vet responded in kind. It's so important to have open lines of communication like this, and so often for various reasons it just doesn't happen. Blue is very lucky to have both you to advocate for him, and a vet who is willing to listen and not let her own ego get in the way of helping her patients.

Hi, everyone! It's been a LONG time since I've posted to the forums or even visited Dogster, but I need some advice.

My parents' dog, a now eleven (twelve in February) Bichon, tore his CCL and meniscus in his left knee last summer. Now, almost exactly a year later, he has sustained the exact same injury (minus the involvement of the meniscus) to his right knee. Last time, the tear was repaired surgically, using fishing line. I'm not sure what they call that, but it was not the TPLO where they cut the tibia and install metal hardware.

He recovered just fine, and has shown no symptoms since then, but then on Friday evening he injured the right one.

My question, I guess, is ... if this were your dog, would you do another surgical repair using the same technique? I already know that I'm uncomfortable with the TPLO, as I've read of more than a few instances where the metal hardware has corroded and been linked to osteosarcoma. OR would you opt for conservative management instead?

Bottom line - my mom is unsure what to do, and is looking to me for advice and suggestions, and I just don't know what to tell her. Obviously pre-surgical blood work will be done prior to surgery to verify that he can safely be put under anesthesia, but even at that, for an eleven year old dog, I just worry that the possible risks outweigh the rewards. I've read that lot of people have great success with conservative management combined with other things like prolotherapy, has yielded results that equal or surpass surgical repair.

Any advice? Suggestions? Words of wisdom from the trenches from those of you who've gone through this with your dogs? Any and all input is appreciated, and thanks in advance.